Open Thread 418
This is the weekly visible open thread. Post about anything you want, ask random questions, whatever. ACX has an unofficial subreddit , Discord , and bulletin board , and in-person meetups around the world .
Metadata
- Published: January 26, 2026
- Source: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/open-thread-418
- Document ID:
2026-01-26_open-thread-418_full
Category Map
Events
- Inkhaven (5 mentions)
Organizations
- Astralcodexten Com (71 mentions)
- Aerolamp (1 mentions)
People
- Aella (32 mentions)
- Zvi (30 mentions)
- Gwern (27 mentions)
- Scott Aaronson (22 mentions)
- Ozy (8 mentions)
Places
- Berkeley (79 mentions)
Full Primary Source Text
This is the weekly visible open thread. Post about anything you want, ask random questions, whatever. ACX has an unofficial subreddit , Discord , and bulletin board , and in-person meetups around the world . Most content is free, some is subscriber only; you can subscribe here . Also: 1: Inkhaven was a blogging residency/bootcamp/program in Berkeley last November. The conceit was that residents had to write one post per day for thirty days, or else get kicked out without a refund. I ran some sessions, and so did other people you might recognize like Gwern, Zvi, Ozy, Aella, and
Scott Aaronson. People seemed to like it (average rating 8/10, see also reflections here , here , here , here , here , here , here , here , etc ; when you make forty people write every day, you sure do end up with a lot of written reflections on the experience). They’re doing it again this April, and you’re invited to apply . You’ll need $3,500 (some scholarships available) and a month free. I plan to help again. Application deadline March 1. 2: ACX grantee Aerolamp manufactures far-UVC lamps that kill airborne germs (but are safe for humans
and animals). Place them in a heavily-trafficked area, and infections won’t spread from person to person because the germs will get zapped before they can reach a new host. The utopian dream is that nobody will have to worry about indoor gatherings during the next COVID-scale pandemic; more practically, companies and schools could use them to reduce sick days. In order to build buzz/awareness, Aerolamp will be giving away free lamps ($500 value) to anyone with an appropriate location (they’re imagining coworking spaces and group houses, but maybe you have better ideas) who’s willing to display an included poster and
take a customer survey. If you’re in this category, then apply here for your free Aerolamp DevKit.